Early success in Starfield comes from focusing on completing faction quests to get good gear and skills fast, alongside carefully choosing your starting traits.
Jumping into the vast universe of Starfield can feel overwhelming, but a few key actions right at the beginning can greatly improve your experience. Focusing on specific strategies during the first few hours makes a difference. That is why we’ve compiled these Starfield important tips for an early start.
Completing early faction quests is a very good way to get excellent weapons and equipment. These quests also grant skill points needed for character development. Also, pick your character traits wisely as those will greatly affect your first play through.
Starfield Important Tips for an Early Start
Okay, space explorers! So, you’ve jumped into the amazing universe of Starfield, right? It’s huge, like, seriously HUGE, and it’s easy to feel a little lost at the start. Don’t worry! We’ve all been there. This guide is like a treasure map, pointing you to some super important stuff to do early in the game. Doing these things will make your space journey smoother, more fun, and way more awesome. Let’s get started, shall we?
Understanding Your Character Creation
Before you even set foot on your ship, you make a character. This isn’t just about how they look; it’s about how they play! The backgrounds and traits you pick at the start can really impact your journey. Let’s break it down:
Choosing Your Background
Your background is like your character’s previous job or life story. Each one gives you three starting skills. Think about the kind of explorer you want to be. Do you like talking your way out of trouble? Maybe you like fixing ships, or you’re awesome at shooting things. Here are a few examples of how backgrounds give skills:
- Diplomat: Get skills in Persuasion, Commerce, and Wellness. Good for players who like making friends (and money) and staying healthy.
- Bounty Hunter: Start with Piloting, Targeting Control Systems and Gymnastics. Great for flying fast, aiming straight, and moving quickly.
- Cyber Runner: Get stealth, security, and theft skills. Perfect for sneaking around and getting items.
Pick a background that fits the style of play that sounds most fun to you. Don’t worry too much if you don’t pick the “perfect” one right away because you can improve all skills later.
Selecting Your Traits
Traits are optional and give special bonuses or challenges. They can be cool, but sometimes they can be tricky, too. Here are a few examples to think about:
- Introvert: You’re more powerful when you’re flying or exploring alone, but weaker with a team.
- Extrovert: You’re stronger when you are playing with a team, but weaker when alone.
- Taskmaster: Your ship’s crew has a better shot at fixing things, but sometimes their fixes are more expensive.
- Kid Stuff: You have parents who live in the game. They can give you gifts, but you also need to send them money.
Read the trait descriptions carefully before choosing them. Some traits make the game easier, and others make it harder in ways you might not want.
Also, it’s important to know that you can only choose a maximum of three traits at the start. You can’t remove the traits once you start the game, so make your choices carefully.
Focus on the Main Quest Early On
It might be tempting to run around and explore all the amazing places right away, but hold your space horses. Following the main story quest at the beginning has some big advantages. Why? Because it:
Guides You Through the Basics
The main quests walk you through the basics of Starfield. You’ll learn how to use the scanner, how to fight in space and on planets, and how to fly your ship. It’s like a training session that’s part of the story. This makes the gameplay less confusing as you are learning new things.
Unlocks Important Stuff
As you finish parts of the main story, you’ll get access to important stuff like new places, ships, and, most importantly, the Constellation group. Constellation is a very important part of the main story, and they give you more quests to do. Getting into Constellation will make your adventure start more smoothly and you can meet new friends here.
Gives You Good Gear
Main quests often give you decent weapons and armor. Starting out with better items can make your journey a lot easier, especially at the start when you might not have found many other good weapons and equipment.
Of course, don’t feel like you have to do only the main story all the time, but it will help you get your space-legs quickly.
Understanding Your Ship and Space Combat
Your ship is your home, your ride, and your weapon all in one. It’s super important, so let’s dive into how it works:
Getting Familiar with Ship Controls
Flying your ship isn’t like driving a car. It takes some getting used to. Take some time to practice flying around. Get used to things like:
- Boost: This is like the gas pedal. It gives you a burst of speed.
- Targeting: Lock onto enemy ships.
- Shields and Weapons: Keep an eye on these. Shields protect your ship, and weapons shoot the bad guys.
Don’t be shy about taking some time to do practice flights. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.
Upgrading Your Ship
As you play, you’ll get money. Use it to upgrade your ship. Things like better shields, bigger guns, and improved thrusters can make a big difference in combat. Look for ship service technicians at big spaceports for upgrades.
You can also get new ships as you play. Some ships are faster, some are better at fighting, and some have more space for cargo. Pick the ships that fit your goals.
Space Combat Basics
When you run into bad guys in space, here’s what to do:
- Target: Lock on to an enemy ship.
- Shields: Make sure your shields are up.
- Shoot: Use your ship’s weapons to shoot the enemy.
- Boost: Use boost to move quickly or escape.
Don’t be afraid to run away if things get too rough. You can always come back later when you have a better ship or weapons.
Resource Management and Crafting
In Starfield, you need resources to craft stuff, fix your ship, and build outposts. Keeping track of resources is important.
Understanding Resources
Resources are things like iron, copper, and helium. You’ll find these on planets, in containers, and sometimes by shooting at asteroids. Collect everything you can.
Using Your Scanner
Your scanner is your best friend for finding resources. Use it on planets to find plants and rocks that have resources. The scanner is also how you find out what type of resource is present on a planet.
Crafting Items
As you find resources, you can use them at workbenches or in your ship to make different things. You can make things like:
- Ammo: For your weapons.
- Medkits: To heal yourself.
- Modifications: To upgrade your weapons and suits.
- Outpost buildings: If you want to build a base.
Pay attention to what crafting items you need to make things, and collect them on your travels.
Selling Extra Resources
If you have extra resources that you don’t need, sell them. You can do this at any merchant and use that money to buy other stuff you need. Keep things balanced!
Exploring Planets and Using Your Scanner
Starfield has so many planets to visit! How do you make the most of it?
Surveying Planets
When you land on a planet, take out your scanner. The scanner will help you find:
- Plants and Animals: You can scan these to learn about them.
- Resources: Find where to mine for materials.
- Points of Interest: These could be places to explore, ruins, or other fun things.
Scanning all the things on the planet will give you experience points, so scan everything. You can also complete surveys on each planet for even more experience.
Using Your Boost Pack
The boost pack is your friend for getting around quickly. Use it to climb up things or jump over gaps. It will help you get to those hard to reach places and get the best stuff.
Dealing with Encounters
As you explore, you’ll run into enemies or other people. Some will be friendly, others not so much. Always be ready to fight or run away. And make sure you pay attention to your surroundings.
Leveling Up Your Skills and Perks
As you do stuff in Starfield, you’ll get experience points and level up. This lets you improve your skills.
How Skills Work
Skills make you better at different things. You start with some skills from your background and you can improve any skills you want as you play. Here are a few example of skills that will be very useful:
- Piloting: Makes you better at flying your ship.
- Combat Skills: Makes you better at fighting with weapons.
- Stealth: Helps you sneak around.
- Science: Helps you craft more advanced things.
- Social: Makes you better at talking to people.
Focus on the skills that help you with your play style. It’s no problem if you change your mind later and focus on a different set of skills.
Spending Skill Points
When you level up, you’ll get a skill point. You spend these on the skills you want to improve. The most important thing is to spend your skill points. Don’t wait, or you won’t get the advantages from leveling up. Spend the skill point and start to become better at your chosen skills.
Challenge System
Many skills have a challenge system. For example, you can get better at shooting with lasers by killing enemies with lasers. Once you complete the challenge, you can increase the rank of your skill. Rank up your skills as much as possible to maximize your capabilities.
Making Money and Trading
Money makes the world of Starfield go round! You’ll need it to buy ship parts, weapons, and other things. Here’s how to get your hands on some space cash:
Selling Loot and Resources
As you play, you’ll find loot. Sell the things you don’t need at a merchant. Any merchants will also buy resources that you have mined. This is the most common way to make money.
Taking on Missions
People at spaceports and settlements will give you missions. These can be anything from delivering packages to fighting bad guys. Missions can reward you with money or other special items. So, don’t hesitate to help other people, it will make you richer!
Trading Goods
Some planets have lots of resources. You can buy these resources cheap, and then sell them somewhere else for more money. Keep an eye on the prices so that you don’t lose money from the trades.
Managing Your Inventory
Your character can only carry a certain amount of things. Managing your inventory makes sure you don’t get stuck in the middle of space unable to move because you have too much loot.
Understanding Carrying Capacity
You have a limited amount you can carry. When you get too heavy, you’ll move slower. You can improve the amount you can carry through skills, or special outfits. Make sure you aren’t carrying more than you can handle.
Stashing Items
You can store extra stuff in your ship. Your ship has a cargo area. You can also store items at your outposts or any homes you have. Remember where you stored your items, so you can use them later.
Selling or Dropping Items
If you have too much junk, sell it or drop it. Sometimes you just have to make tough decisions about what you will and will not keep.
These are some tips that will help you get a good start in Starfield. You can always come back to this guide for a refresher on some of these things. Go forth and explore the cosmos!
With these early tips, you’ll be well-prepared to handle the challenges and enjoy the amazing journey that Starfield offers. Remember, exploration is key, so don’t be afraid to go out there and see what the universe has in store for you!
Starfield Guide: 15 Things You NEED To Do First
Final Thoughts
Prioritize main story missions initially for quick progression and skill points. Resource gathering is a must, scan everything. Focus on a single combat skill early for improved efficiency during fights. Don’t neglect crafting as it improves equipment.
Join a faction early; this grants access to unique quests and items. Invest in ship upgrades, especially the reactor and shields. Completing side quests nets credits and experience.
These Starfield important tips for an early start offer a solid foundation. Strategic exploration and resource management become vital later. It’s about efficient gameplay from the start.
